6 Indicted In Long Island 'Birth Tourism' Scheme: Feds

CENTER MORICHES, NY — Six people were indicted on fraud and money laundering charges Tuesday after federal prosecutors said they ran a scheme to bring Turkish women to Long Island so their babies could obtain citizenship and medical benefits.

The "birth tourism" scheme led to the birth of more than 100 Turkish children and a $2.1 million loss to Medicaid, according to the United States Department of Justice.

Sarah Kaplan, 46, of Center Moriches, also known as "Hatun Kaplan" and "Hatin Kaplan"; Ibrahim Aksakal, 48, of East Patchogue, also known as "Dennis"; Enes Burak Cakiroglu, 24, of East Patchogue; Fiordalia Marte, 41, of Lindenhurst, also known as "Lisa"; and Edgar Rodriguez, 48, of Farmingville, known as "Eddie," were charged.

Aksakal, Cakiroglu and Kaplan were charged with conspiring to commit visa fraud, health care fraud, wire fraud and money laundering; Marte and Rodriguez were charged with conspiring to commit health care fraud, wire fraud and money laundering, the Department of Justice said.

A sixth individual was indicted but is not in custody, the Department of Justice said.

Suffolk County Police Department detectives uncovered the scheme, according to Commissioner Geraldine Hart.

"And thanks to their tenacity and the countless hours dedicated to investigating the intricacies of the scheme, a case came together and six individuals are now being held responsible for their roles in this conspiracy," Hart said in a statement. "This indictment should send a message to others exploiting birth tourism — bilking the system and swindling our residents is not tolerated here in Suffolk."

Prosecutors said from January 2017 to September 2020, the group advertised the birth tourism scheme on two Turkish-language Facebook pages and a Turkish-language website. The names of two of Facebook pages translated to “My Baby Should Be Born in America,” and "Giving Birth In America," according to the Department of Justice.

Prosecutors said some of the defendants’ advertisements read: “If you believe your baby should be born in the USA and become a U.S. citizen then you are at the right place."

The advertisements said that for a fee of $7,500 — paid nearly all in cash by each pregnant woman —the group would provide transportation, “insurance” to cover medical care and assistance with applying for U.S. citizenship on behalf of the babies, prosecutors said, adding they instructed women to conceal their pregnancies.

The pregnant women were housed in seven "birth houses" across Suffolk County in Center Moriches, Dix Hills, East Northport, East Patchogue, Smithtown and West Babylon, according to the Department of Justice.

Aksakal, Cakiroglu and Kaplan facilitated the lodging and transportation of the pregnant women, while Marte and Rodriguez, who were professionally trained and certified to assist individuals to apply for health coverage, obtained the purported “insurance,” which was actually Medicaid benefits, by submitting fraudulent Medicaid applications on behalf of the pregnant women, prosecutors said.

Medicaid disbursed more than $2.1 million in fraudulently-obtained benefits, while the defendants received about $750,000 in fees from the pregnant women, a portion of which was funneled to one or more bank accounts in Turkey, the Department of Justice said.

“Using internet ads, the defendants perpetrated an international fraud that relied upon a parade of women who paid them thousands of dollars in fees in order to enter the United States under false pretenses, to give birth here," acting U.S. Attorney Seth DuCharme said in a statement. "The defendants cashed in on the desire for birthright citizenship, and the American taxpayer ultimately got stuck with the $2.1 million bill. The indictment unsealed today reinforces the
principle that American citizenship is not for sale, and that our benefits programs are not piggy
banks for criminals to plunder.”

Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy Sini added: “This is a brazen birth tourism scheme in which the defendants not only violated our nation's immigration laws, but went a step further, sticking the taxpayers of Suffolk County with the bill for their scam by stealing millions of dollars from the Medicaid program. Medicaid is designed to help people in need — not to be used as a slush fund for criminals to subsidize their fraudulent schemes, which is precisely what these defendants did. Let the message be clear: federal and local law enforcement will continue to work together to protect the residents of Suffolk County.”

Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent-in-Charge Peter Fitzhugh said birth tourism is "dangerous, inhumane and diverts precious community resources to the coffers of criminals."

If convicted, the defendants face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.